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Creating a Pure-Text Reference Page using vi

Note: To create a pure-text reference page without Documenter's Workbench (no embedded nroff(1) commands that would format the text) simply use the vi editor (or the editor of your choice) and document your script or program according to the style found in the standard reference pages. Name your reference page file after the script or program it documents with the suffix ''.l'' at the end of the file name to designate the page as a local reference page.

Note: Use the letter "l" as your suffix, not the numeral one "1." When you have completed your reference page, you must place it in the /usr/man directory structure for the man(1) command to be able to display the new page. Place the reference pages in a local directory, such as /usr/man/manl. (Again using the character ''l'' to designate local reference pages.) If it does not already exist, create the directory with this command (you must be logged in as root):

mkdir /usr/man/manl

Long reference pages should be packed to save disk space. Use the pack(1) command to pack the text file into a more compact form. For example:

pack program.1 
mv program.1.z /usr/man/manl/program.z 

Note: The man program automatically unpacks the pages for reading.


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